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THE WHEELS ON THE BUS

Name: THE WHEELS ON THE BUS
Author: Kara Kenna
ISBN: 978-160710-920-4

From the Play-Doh series

illustrated by Kara Kenna ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2014

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A favorite kids’ song with a Play-Doh twist.

This large-sized board book includes an easy-to-push blue button in the bottom right-hand corner of each page that, when depressed, plays the familiar, titular tune, encouraging kids to sing along. The words to one verse of the song are printed on each page spread: The wheels go ’round and ’round; the driver says, “Move on back”; the people bounce up and down; the baby wails, “Wah-wah-wah”; the horn beeps; the wipers swish; and finally, the wheels go ’round once more. The unusual illustrations depict figures made of Play-Doh against a digital outdoor backdrop. The requisite yellow bus is driven by a quirky-looking ostrich whose passengers are an assortment of animals, including a giraffe, a koala, a zebra, a mommy and baby bear, a monkey and more. The bus is shown rolling past office buildings, rows of houses and a playground as it makes its way through town. Unfortunately, the nature of the modeled figures means that the illustrations are extremely static; there’s no sense that these animals are going up and down at all, for instance. Companion volume Old MacDonald Had a Farm also features a recorded tune, one verse of the song per spread and plenty of cute clay critters. For Play-Doh lovers and little ones who can’t get enough of their favorite songs. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: May 13, 2014

ISBN: 978-160710-920-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Silver Dolphin

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
MAMA'S LITTLE DUCKLINGS
by Michele Boyd ; illustrated by Kara Kenna

- BOOK REVIEW
RAINBOW BUTTERFLIES
by Michele Boyd ; illustrated by Kara Kenna

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ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

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You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!

What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 27, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
OVER AND UNDER THE WETLAND
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

- BOOK REVIEW
LIKE NO OTHER
by Sneed B. Collard III ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

- BOOK REVIEW
CREEP, LEAP, CRUNCH! A FOOD CHAIN STORY
by Jody Jensen Shaffer ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

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YOUR FOREST

From the Your Places series

by Jon Klassen ; illustrated by Jon Klassen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2025

Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure.

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Klassen’s inimitable blend of cozy and curious is on flagrant display in this tale of personalized forest management.

“This is your sun. It is coming up for you.” Klassen allows the youngest of readers to put together a beguiling woodland scene. Each object in the forest is bedecked with the deadpan eyes the artist is known for. Like other titles in the series, this one presents typical items (trees, rocks, a stream), but it distinguishes itself by including a solitary forest ghost who “is nice. He only comes out at night.” It’s a tiny yet whimsical detail that imbues the tale with an enchanting sense of unpredictability. When day shifts to night, readers are assured that “this is your forest. Now it is done.” The sun sinks, and they’re treated to a surreal scene as all the items appear to doze off: “Now everyone is closing their eyes.” Happily, the ghost has a brief solo moment on the very edge of the forest on the final page. Readers will experience both the comfort of putting a community of anthropomorphized objects to sleep and the power of creating it in the first place.

Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure. (Board book. 2-4)